Hot Lunch

Welcome to 2018-19 Hot Lunch!

An in-house hot lunch program is available for students in grades K-8. Menus are posted on the TeacherEase website (www.teacherease.com) and on the Hot Lunch page of the school website under Parent Info or in the Quick Links section. Two main dish options or salad bar are offered every day that school is in session for a full day. Each option includes a choice of five nutritional components: dairy, grains, meat or meat alternate, fruits, and vegetables.

In order to serve the children in a timely and enjoyable matter, SMG relies on parent volunteers. Each SMG School Family is asked to sign up and complete five days in the lunchroom or buyout at a cost of $150 per family. The shifts are from 10:45 am until 12:30 pm. At registration, families must choose one of these options. After October 1st, any families that have not signed up will be charged the buyout fee. Please sign up for ONLY five shifts on the lunchroom volunteer calendar to ensure all families have shifts available. Since volunteers are a very important part of the lunch program, SMG prefers and appreciates volunteers to work their shifts versus paying the buyout fee. Lunch is available to volunteers at the cost of $3.60.

If you choose to buyout, please send payment by October 1st. If you are paying by check, please indicate “Lunch Volunteer Buyout” in the memo line. You can also use the online payment system at www.stmariagoretti.org; please use the lunchroom buyout category.

If you are scheduled to work a lunch shift and have an emergency that prevents you from attending, PLEASE CALL (608)268-2978 as early as possible, to allow the lunch staff to find another volunteer. If you do not contact the kitchen by 9:00 am, and do not work your shift, you will be charged a $50 “no-show fee” through your student’s lunch account.

If you are interested in working additional lunch shifts during the school year, you may sign up as an “extra shift volunteer” in the kitchen office. You will be paid $20 per extra shift beyond the required five shifts, via your student’s lunch account. We will contact the extra shift volunteers via e-mail or phone if extra help is needed. Any questions, please contact Jennifer Vosberg at (608)268-2980 or jennifer.vosberg@stmariagoretti.org.

The cost of a complete reimbursable student meal is $2.90. St Maria Goretti School follows the National School Lunch Program Meal Requirements.

In order to count as a complete reimbursable meal, based on government guidelines, a student must choose at least three of the five components offered on a daily basis (dairy, grains, meat or meat alternate, fruits and vegetables). Additionally, one of those three components must be a full serving (1/2 cup) of fruit, vegetable, or a combination of fruit and vegetable. If a student does not choose a complete reimbursable meal, lunch items cannot be charged as a bundled non-reimbursable meal under the Smart Snacks regulations and must be charged individually. Therefore, the price per category will be as followed: Main dish (choice one/choice two): $2.50. Meat or meat alternate: $1.75, fruits: $0.75, vegetables: $0.75, grain: $0.75, milk: $0.40. Please contact Nohora Reyna, Food Manager (608)268-2980, if you have questions regarding State of Wisconsin meal requirements.

For 3rd through 8th grades an extra serving of the choice one or choice two, called “a la carte,” is available for an additional $1.75. For 2nd grade students, the “a la carte” option will only be available once they have finished their meal. If time allows, and they still would like the “a la carte” option, they will be able to come back through the line. Please note that the salad bar option cannot be an “a la carte” addition to any meal. If salad bar is chosen as a meal, the choice one or two options are not available as “a la carte” servings. Extra milk for hot lunch and cold lunch students is available at a cost of $0.40. Water is available at no charge to all students during lunch time. Parents, siblings, and other guests are welcome to join students for lunch any day for $3.60 per meal.

Student lunch participation and account balances are tracked via TeacherEase. Accounts are updated daily to show charges. Deposits will be recorded on a weekly basis. No monthly statements are issued; please check your student’s lunch account frequently to ensure that funds are available. Accounts with outstanding balances will receive reminder e-mails each week. Please refer to our “Unpaid Meal Charge Policy” below. Payments to lunch accounts can be made by check, through the school office, or by using the parish online payment system. Be sure to use the memo line of your check, or the comment box online, to indicate if you would like your payment divided between your children.

Free and Reduced

St. Maria Goretti School offers free and reduced lunches to students who qualify based on USDA regulations. Students may qualify for free or reduced rates based on direct certification through the State database; if this is the case, you will receive a notice of your child’s eligibility. Families are also encouraged to submit a written application for free or reduced rates, based on family size and income. The application and instructions are available at the school office, kitchen office or on the school website under Hot Lunch program. Reduced lunches cost $0.40 per meal. Please note that free and reduced rates apply only to complete reimbursable meals – that is, meals that follow the guidelines stated above under “Cost.” If it is not a complete reimbursable meal, each lunch item will be charge individually. Please refer to the “Cost” section of the handbook for this information. Extra “a la carte” servings cost $1.75, and an extra milk serving costs $0.40, regardless of the child’s free/reduced eligibility.

The SMG Unpaid Meal Charge Policy is to provide children with adequate nutrition to focus in school, to minimize stigmatization of children with meal charges and to maintain the financial integrity of the program. SMG will communicate privately with families about a child’s outstanding balance with payment reminders directly and discreetly to adults in the household. While working with families to obtain payment, SMG will continue serving the student(s) reimbursable meals, the student will not be allowed to take the extra “a la carte” option.

The SMG Unpaid Meal Charge Policy will be communicated at the beginning of each school year, at registration to all families and staff members responsible for collecting payment, notifying families of low/negative balances and enforcing the policy. The policy will be available on the school website under Hot Lunch and in the Family Handbook. SMG will review and revise the policy as needed annually.

Parents of students with a negative balance of $20 or more will receive a reminder email with the student’s balance due. If your student’s balance goes over negative $40, you will receive an email requesting payment immediately or to set up a payment plan. If the family balance reaches a negative $100, the principal will be contacting the parents requesting payment immediately or to set up a payment plan. At this time, if payment/payment plan is not made, your child will be required to bring a cold lunch until arrangements have been made. Payments to lunch accounts can be made by check through the school office, or by using the parish online payment system. Be sure to use the memo line of your check, or the comment box online, to indicate if you would like your payment divided between your children. Food service funds will not be used to cover costs related to uncollectible debts.

Funds remaining in the graduating/transferring student’s lunch account will be transferred to younger sibling(s), applied to school tuition, youth ministry or any other programs that the family chooses. If there is nowhere to transfer the money, SMG will make three attempts to contact the family via email, phone or mail to issue a refund. If SMG is not able to issue a refund, it will be turned over to Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) as unclaimed property. If you have questions, please contact the Lunch Billing Coordinator, Jennifer Vosberg, (608)268-2980 or email at jennifer.vosberg@stmariagoretti.org .

St. Maria Goretti School offers free and reduced lunches to students who qualify, based on USDA regulations. Students may qualify for free or reduced rates based on direct certification through the State database; if this is the case, you will receive a notice of your child’s eligibility. Families are also encouraged to submit a written application for free or reduced rates, based on family size and income, at any time during the school year. The application and instructions are available at the school office, kitchen office or on the school website. SMG will accept transfer student’s eligibility from a previous school with appropriate documentation. If you have questions, please contact the Food Manager, Nohora Reyna, (608)268-2980 or email at nohora.lopez@stmariagoretti.org.

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.